After the Fact
by Aubrey Etta
Summary: The A-Team didn't just vanish from Charissa Sosa's life after she slipped them the key to their escape. A month later, they're back causing her all sorts of trouble.
1. Chapter 1

"I could get used to this," Captain Charissa Sosa murmured, eyeing Face's shirtless body appreciatively, wondering how and why he was asleep on her couch. She had not expected to see him again so soon.

"What was that?" a voice behind her asked.

Damn Face for distracting her. How could she have forgotten the federal agent by her side? With a fugitive sprawled across her couch nevertheless.

"Sorry, my apartment is a mess," she lied. "Maybe we can talk at a restaurant?"

Agent Keller chuckled. "I don't mind a little mess. And this is too important to bandy about in a public place."

Sosa sighed, knowing what a predicament she was in. "Alright but let me tidy up a bit before you come in."

She slipped inside, trying not to open the door any more than necessary.

"Face," she whispered, shaking him a little harder than necessary. "Wake up. You have to leave."

"Nice to see you too," he chuckled, wrapping one arm around her shoulders and stifling a yawn with the other.

"I mean it," Sosa insisted, "Agent Keller is waiting just outside my door."

"And here I was hoping for some quality bedroom time," Face sighed.

"Come back in, say, three hours?" she suggested.

"Who is this agent you're spending all night with?" Face asked, pulling on his shirt.

Sosa smirked. "Why? You aren't jealous, are you?"

"Do I even need to answer that?" Face grumbled.

"We're working. He's the other agent in charge of searching for you and your dear friends," Sosa explained.

"I'll be back at around ten," Face told her as he finished tying his shoe.

She knew he could have been out of there within seconds, but didn't complain as he stalled. Finally, he pecked her on the forehead and headed into her bedroom, presumably to crawl out the window or leave by some other means. Sosa counted to ten before letting Keller in.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit of a slob," she lied.

"No worries," Keller chuckled, moving towards Face's seat on the couch and kicking his feet up.

"Shoes off the furniture, please," Sosa snapped. She really could not stand dirt.

"Sorry, Captain - can I call you Charissa?" he asked suddenly.

She frowned. "Don't call me Charissa. Nobody calls me that. I mostly go by Sosa."

_Almost _nobody called her Charissa.

"Alright, I'm Tom, by the way."

"Let's get to work, Tom," Sosa said pulling out several files from her bag.

"So you were there when the A-Team escaped last month?" Tom asked curiously.

Sosa nodded reluctantly. Even though it was the right thing to do, she felt guilty for her key-in-the-mouth trick.

"I heard a rumor that you kissed one of them," Tom commented.

Sosa rolled her eyes. "We are here to discuss how to find the A-Team," she reminded him.

"So it is true," Tom observed, "I've also heard that you used to be involved with Peck. Do you know anything that might be useful?"

He had no idea. At least she could honestly say that she did not know where they were or what they were doing. She really did not like lying to the government.

The casual meeting ran long and seemed to never end. Eventually, though, there came a knock at the door, causing Sosa to jump. She hadn't expected Face to actually come through the door, much less knock.

"It's getting late," Tom noticed. "I'd better be going."

"Of course," Sosa replied, rising from her seat. "Oops," she said as she stumbled at the table, sending Tom's papers flying in every direction. "I'm sorry."

She left him to crawl around on the floor and slipped out into the hallway.

"Fa-" She did not even get his name out before he enveloped her in a bone crushing embrace. "Can you come back in five minutes? Tom is just leaving."

"Oh so he's _Tom_ now,"

Sosa smirked and returned to her apartment.

"Who was that?" Tom asked, now stuffing his folders into his briefcase.

"Just a neighbor," Sosa shrugged, "Thanks for coming over, we'll talk again tomorrow."

"Alright, see you then."

Tom patted her back awkwardly then left. Sosa held her breath as he opened the door, but was not at all surprised that Face was long gone. She was surprised, however, when she turned around to see Face digging around in her fridge in the small kitchen alcove.

"God, you scared me!"

"No need to call me God, Face will do just fine," he answered, pulling out the box of leftover pizza from her meeting with Tom.

He leaned over the counter as Sosa sat opposite him.

"So, Faceman, do anything exciting lately?"

"What? Like escape from federal custody with a smuggled handcuff key? Nope, nothing at all," he replied, then stuffed an entire slide of pepperoni pizza into his mouth.

"So what are you doing here?" Sosa asked, well aware of how dangerous Washington D. for him at the present.

"Can't I just stop in to say hello?" Face sighed, wearing a mask of innocence.

"You forget I know you," Sosa reminded him.

"Never. Anyway, Hannibal has been working our asses off setting up our exciting new life on the run, in which we are apparently some kind of mercenaries," he explained, "Then Murdock decided to go skiing in Florida and BA found some kids who worship him do Hannibal gave us all two days off, as long as we promised not to do anything stupid."

"Wow, two whole days. And what does he means by stupid? Like breaking in to the home of the federal agent who is in charge of hunting you down and hauling your asses off to prison, perhaps?"

"Perhaps."

He meant to continue, but was cut off by yet another unexpected knock on the door. Face ducked behind the counter while Sosa went to see who was there.

"Sorry, but I forgot my phone," Tom explained, raising his arms in a "what can you do?" gesture.

"Right, you can get it."

He only spent a moment feeling around the couch before standing back up.

"Got it." He made towards the door, then stopped. "By the way, what are you doing tomorrow night? I thought maybe we could go out to dinner or a movie or something," he asked in a far too casual tone of voice.

"I have plans," Sosa responded curtly.

"Alright, maybe some other time?" he suggested hopefully.

She did not answer as he headed out the door.

"So where were we?" Sosa asked, sitting back down across from Face.

Suddenly, he grabbed her and she felt his hot lips against hers.

"Mmmm, I don't think we were there yet," Sosa laughed.

The fact that she was laughing near her laugh even more. She almost never laughed, or even smiled hardly, but Face could make her forget the stress of work and life.

"I took a shot, sue me." Face shrugged his shoulder unaffected.

Sosa pretended not to notice his hand creeping across the counter towards her chest.

"Maybe I'll punish you later."

"Is that a promise?" he asked, sitting an eyebrow.

His hand found its way under her blouse and his fingers were dancing up her side.

"We'll see."

"Have you found anything interesting about the A-Team?" Face questioned just as his fingers began to caress Sosa through her bra.

"Not a clue. They have simply vanished into thin air."

"Huh, who knew."

One finger, now two, made their way underneath Sosa's bra.

"Face," Sosa moaned, "Stop being a tease and let's move this into the bedroom."

"Well, if the lady insists," Face grinned broadly.


	2. Chapter 2

Sosa woke up first the next morning, used to sleeping on her schedule. Face was still asleep, though, probably catching up from a lack of sleep in the past few weeks.

It would be too easy to call in and reveal Face's location. Or she could even get out her own handcuffs and take him in to custody herself. Just a few weeks ago she could have done it. Face had convinced herself to hate Face and blame him for everything she knew was her fault. She did love him and just wouldn't admit it to him or even herself. Slipping the key into his mouth was a turning point. She did not want to deny him or herself any longer. Face was more important than the law.

It was a stupid law anyway, everybody knew the A-Team was innocent of any crime. All they did was escape custody to help catch the real bad guys.

"Trying to decide whether to turn me in or not?"

Face knew her far too well. That was another reason she ran. She had always tried to hide herself as much as possible, but Face could always see through her barriers.

"You're too pretty for prison."

Face chuckled and they continued to lie in comfortable silence, wrapped in each other's arms.

"I have to go to work," Sosa said, finally breaking the silence.

Face sighed. "Take the day off, Charissa."

Sosa sighed too. "I can't."

"Say you're sick."

"I can't."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're trying to avoid me," Face commented.

"My work is my life, you know that," she answered, heaving herself out of bed.

Face wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back.

"Maybe I can be a few minutes late," she offered, falling back into his arms.

As it turned out, she was nearly a half hour late. Her partners, almost all underlings, did not say anything. They had all shown up late at one time or another, she was allowed to have her turn. She always have them hell for it, but no one dared to return the favor.

Almost as soon as she sat at her desk, Sosa's cell phone rang. Not her usual phone, but her secret phone, the one Face had given her. It was her only way to contact him. Paying it was a wrong number, she flipped the phone open.

"This is Sosa."

"Record this call. I've got a lead for you."

"Face," she sighed, then instantly regretted it. Tom and their secretary turned to stare so she snapped her fingers and gestured towards the necessary machinery.

"What do you want, Peck?" she asked harshly, conveying with her tone that others were now involved.

"How is the search for us going?"

"Fantastic, you know you are going to get caught sooner rather than later," she retorted, trying to sound engaged and confident.

Face chuckled. "Well, I'd like to strike a deal."

"A deal?"

"I don't know if you are aware of a giant smuggling ring in the D.C. area."

She was well aware. That was another case she was working on. She wasn't surprised that Face was working a job and that was why he was in town. Hannibal never gave the boys time off.

"We have some information that you might be interested in. Do you want to know?"

"That depends. What are you asking for?"

"A date. Meet me at that Italian place you like so much around seven?" Face replied seriously.

Sosa almost laughed. "Who is to say we won't just take you into custody right then and there?"

"You need the information I have."

Sosa heard her phone click, then go dead. What on earth was Face up to? Obviously he knew she was at work and expected their rendezvous to be wired, hell he told her to record it, but why couldn't he just tell her? And he never did say what the deal he was looking for was.

"Sosa?"

Sosa jumped. She looked at herself; she was tense, leaving forward in her chair and tapping her phone against her chin anxiously. Noticing this, she sat up straight and set her phone on the table.

"We'll see what he wants and try to arrest him," she decided.

"Try? He'll be in the middle of a public place. We can arrest him," Tom insisted.

Sosa let out a harsh laugh. "Do you think he's just going to show up and hold out his hands to be cuffed? I'm sure Hannibal has a plan to keep him from us."

"Alright, how should we do this? We could bug you," Tom suggested.

Sosa tried not to roll her eyes. "Of course."

They parked their dark unmarked van (as though the A-Team would not notice them in a large black van) around the corner of the restaurant at 6:45. Molly Harding was chosen to sit inside the restaurant and watch, interfering only if necessary. Tom sat in the van, watching the door of the restaurant (and Sosa putting the recorder in her bra through the side mirror).

At 7:00 precisely, Sosa went into the restaurant. Face was not there so she was seated and pretended to look over the menu. Finally, nearly fifteen minutes late, Face arrived.

"You're late," she snapped.

He beamed his most apologetic grin and slipped into the seat across from her. "Sorry, your buddy at the drop off point kept me late. And take off those bugs."

"What bugs?" Sosa asked innocently.

His grin got wider. "I was hoping you'd say that." He reached over and slid his hand into her bra. A minute later, he pulled out a small black recorder and crushed it in his fingers.

"Is that all?"

"Agent Harding is at the table by the door," Sosa said casually, relieved the recorder was gone.

"I know. Blue sweater, right?"

"How did you know?"

"Look at her. Everything about her screams 'cop,' Face replied.

Sosa took a moment to look over her co-worker. Face was right, completely right. She sat up too straight, was too tense. Her eyes scanned over the perimeter at to regular intervals. Not to mention, Molly was alone in such a high end restaurant and had been sitting there for nearly ten minutes without ordering anything but a glass of water.

"So what are you really doing here, Face?"

"We've been hired to protect a company from narcotic smugglers who are-may I help you, Agent Harding?"

Molly smiled sweetly. "I'm sorry but you should know very well that we aren't going to let you make a deal without multiple representatives of the government."

"Take a seat," Face sighed, pulling a chair from the next table over.

Without a word, Face stuck his hand in her bra and pulled out another recorder. Sosa did her best not to feel jealous. Not to mention her personal time with Face was no longer private. Now there was no way he would give much away.

"As I was saying, have you heard of a guy named Grizzoli?"

"Ah."

"He has added smuggling to his list of crimes. And you need the A-Team's help to catch him, Charissa," Face said easily.

Sosa tried not to notice Molly's inquisitive expression at the use of her first name.

"What's the plan then, Templeton?" Sosa asked. Once the Charissa was out of the bag, Templeton was fair game.

"That's Hannibal's deal, you know that. I'm just the Faceman, here to see if you're interested."

"I'll discuss it with my team."

"Now, Miss Molly, it isn't Mrs., is it?" Face said, turning on the charm.

Molly blushed slightly. "No."

"A pretty girl like you? No!" Face gasped exaggeratedly. At least it seemed exaggerated to Sosa, but Molly appeared to be falling for it.

She leaned slightly towards Face. "Just not the settling down kind of girl, I guess."

"I know the type," Face nodded, flashing a sly smile towards Sosa. "Get Charissa to tell you all about it sometime."

"You mean the part when I walked out on you?" Sosa tried, trying to keep up their banter, but beginning to be annoyed by the excessive flirting. She knew how Face was, but she did not have to like it.

"I was thinking more along the lines of the time you seduced me." Face glanced at his watch, a shiny new Rolex that he probably scammed off some poor salesgirl. "I think it's time to take my leave."

He brought Molly's hands to his lips and winked at Sosa. He was it the door and gone before either of them could move.

"Oh, uh," Molly stuttered finally, "I guess he'll be back in touch."

Sosa nodded. "Definitely. We should head back to the office and decide what to do."


	3. Chapter 3

Once again Face was relaxing on her couch when Sosa arrived home, this time watching TV.

"I ordered pizza," he told her, making room so she could sit beside him.

Instead of sitting, she slapped him. He didn't flinch, just looked up at her in surprise.

"What was that for?" he asked, trying to sound hurt.

"Stop acting. You know what that was for," Sosa snapped.

Face grinned. "Well I apologize."

"Tell me the truth now," she commanded, "I mean it."

"I love it when you order me around," Face said suggestively, "That's the truth, Captain."

"Face," she warned, "Were you serious about this whole smuggling thing?"

He nodded reluctantly. "Yeah, Hannibal's plan includes your cooperation, though. I'll call you with the details tomorrow."

"What happened to only being here for two days?" Sosa asked sarcastically, standing and answering the ringing doorbell, paying the delivery man, and moving into the kitchen.

Face followed her. "That was a temporary lie."

"Temporary lie?" Sosa questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I was going to tell you the truth today," he replied, taking a slice of pizza right out of the box.

"Why not just tell me then?" Sosa demanded.

He shrugged. "You'd harass me for details that I can't give. Kind of like you are now, but before we had sex."

Sosa sighed. She could never know everything.

"So where have you guys been?"

"LA. It's nice there and plenty of crazy bad guy asses to kick. Except we've been here the last we-"

"You've been here a week and I didn't see you until twenty four hours ago!" Sosa struggled to keep her voice as calm as possible. But she was pissed. Man, was she pissed. She had no idea what she and Face were, but he could have easily reduced a month of no contact to four weeks.

Face didn't reply, but smirked and leaned back in his seat. "You like me," he sang, "You like me."

Sosa rolled her eyes. "Shut up. You're such a child sometimes."

"But you like me," he cried giddily.

"Who ever said I didn't like you?"

"You. A thousand times," he answered promptly, "And you've said much worse too, you know."

Sosa sighed. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I walked out on you."

"I wasn't fishing for an apology there," Face told her, "I was just making a comment."

"I know, but that doesn't change the fact that I left back when you loved me," Sosa said, truly apologetic.

"Who says I don't still love you, Charissa?" Face asked sounding surprised.

Sosa gaped. "I-I just didn't think about it. Do you?"

"Of course I love you. I never stopped loving you and I never stopped expecting you to come back either."

Sosa blinked back tears. "I'm sorry."

"Hey now, don't cry, it's the past and over with," Face murmured, but not without taking advantage of the opportunity to wrap his arms around her.

Sosa knew that Face held a special place in her heart, but that was when she realized she loved him. And she did. She really, truly loved him. Because he wasn't trying to get her to say it back. The fact that he loved her was just that, a fact, regardless of anything she could do.

"Face, I love you," she whispered softly, uncertain if her could even hear her mumbling into his chest.

"Shh, you don't have to say that," he said soothingly, but she could hear the pain behind his strong voice. He thought she was only saying it. Oh but how could he doubt her after all the laws she was breaking just sitting here with him?

"I mean it, Face, I love you. I think that's why I left, I was scared of my feelings, not just yours. I never wanted to fall in love or have a family, but I love you. I didn't want to. You were right, I just wanted to play and I freaked when it got serious. But I love you. I really love you."

By now Sosa was nearly sobbing on his shoulder, he having slid onto her side of the counter to hold her more closely. She could not remember the last time she had cried. It had been a long time since she let her feelings run away like this. If it weren't for Face, she would stifle all of her tears and laughs. But he let her cry and laugh and be Charissa, not Sosa. And she hated it. But she loved it even more than she hated it.

They made love slowly and lovingly that night, rather than the fast and passionate that they were both used to. In the morning, Charissa could hardly bear the thought of going to work and trying to put her love in prison.

Her lover. Was that what she should call him? Boyfriend sounded too juvenile. Partner too safe. To her, Face was just Face. Lieutenant Templeton Peck, federal fugitive con artist ladies' man. Even more dangerous than the men her mother had warned Charissa about.

The was hardly a word about their heart-to-heart the night before and for that, Sosa was grateful. They did not share an abundance of "I love you"s or tenderness. Even as Face scrambled eggs and she scrambled around for her jacket (which had somehow ended up across the room), Sosa knew they would never be a domesticated couple.

She holstered her gun and drove to work, leaving Face to his own devices. She expected he would meet up with the rest of the A-Team and work on whatever crazy plan Hannibal has come up with.


	4. Chapter 4

"You dated him, didn't you, Sosa?" Tom asked.

She, he, and Molly were seated around a small conference table to discuss what to do about Face's proposal.

"Years ago," she answered curtly.

"But what do you know about him and the A-Team?"

"I walked out on him three, four years ago. It's been a long time. Besides, you can't predict what the A-Team will ever do."

"Do you regret leaving him?" Molly asked quietly.

Sosa was too engaged in her own thoughts to be affronted by the personal question. "Every minute."

"Can we use you?" Tom asked. He obviously didn't think she had answered that correctly.

"How so?"

"He obviously still has feelings for you," Molly explained, "You can get in his way. Find out the information we need and get the jump on him and the boys."

"You want me to betray him?" she asked without thinking.

Molly and Tom started blankly. "Forget about betraying him. He's a federal fugitive."

"Right, I know," Sosa covered up hurriedly, "I just mean that he's not going in this alone. Hannibal Smith is the one behind this, not Peck. And I can guarantee you that he's thought about everything we are about to and has thought it through a thousand times further. Smith has had a month to prepare to thwart what we have a day to plan. Who do you think is going to win this one?"

"Do you have any faith in us?" Tom asked, "We know all this. That's where your relationship with Peck comes in."

Face is going to get a kick out of this, Sosa thought. Her so called relationship with Templeton Peck was about to get even more complicated than it already was. That is, if relationship is even the right word.

"He's smarter than that,"she argued feebly, one goal try.

"He didn't need to talk to you or involve you nearly as much as he did during the capture of Lynch, but he did," Tom pointed out, "You know that you can be his weak spot. You have to admit it, unless you don't want to catch them?"

He concluded with an open-ended question, fully expecting her to refute his crazy implication. But she didn't.

"We know they're innocent of doing the plates, they helped us catch those who actually did do it. They're good people and if it weren't for the fact that McCready needs their file of his desk, we'd be letting them walk. What we need to put our effort into is this smuggling ring."

Tom had the decency to look abashed. "Sorry, Captain. I didn't mean to suggest you weren't focused properly. You're right, we should put the A-Team on the back burner for now. But, of course, we can't just forget about them."

"No, we shouldn't do that either, but if they can help us catch some real criminals, that's what we need to be working on," Sosa said authoritatively. "Molly, look up everything you can find on Grizzoli."

Molly left to get desk to research, leaving Sosa and Tom to set down a plan.

"There not much we can do until they contact us, is there?" Tom asked, sounding disappointed.

Sosa glanced towards her small purse. In a hidden pocket was a secret phone that was a sure way to find out what she needed to know.

"I want you to trace a call," she told her partner.

He looked surprised. "I can't trace a call until we get a call."

Sosa pulled her phone out and weighed it in the air. "That can be arranged."

"How do you have that?" Tom questioned suspiciously.

"He gave it to me. Back in Germany, I mean."

Tom didn't look appeased, but Sosa knew she had the legal high ground. There was nothing wrong with keeping a cell phone. Strictly speaking, she hadn't been withholding evidence or resources since she brought it forward now.

"Hello, Lieutenant, how are you today?" she asked in her signature you've that was a mix of condescension and sarcasm, as soon as Face picked up. The phone had only rung twice.

"Charissa! So nice of you to call," Face cried.

She heard him snap his fingers and the tinkering in the background halted. At least four people were now involved in this phone call.

"And send my regards to the agent listening in. Tom, is it?"

Tom looked at Sosa and she tried to appear equally puzzled as though she was not the reason the A-Team knew her partner's name.

"I'll pass it along. And send mine to . . . BA?" she guessed who was with Face. The background noise sounded like a workshop, BA's area of expertise.

"Yeah," Face answered, "Now I'm guessing this is not a social call so let's get down to business. Are you interested in making a deal?"

"We can definitely get all of your sentences reduced, if not eliminated, but Captain Murdock. He's considered a menace to society and must be contained somewhere safe," replied Sosa promptly.

"Goodbye, Charissa."

Sosa heard the phone click. She asked Tom of he had gotten the source of the call, but he shook his head. So she hit the redial button.

"We can work around Murdock's mental health," Sosa opened the conversation directly.

"You'd better. If you want to catch Grizzoli, be at the bakery in the corner of Vine and Union tomorrow before noon. That's the next pick up point."

Without another word, the former lieutenant ended the call. Once again, it hasn't lasted long enough to trace. Not that that surprised anyone.

So Sosa and her men planned. Colonel Smith was the one with the real plan and Sosa suspected her team would only play a small part in the job. But it was worth it to keep busy on this instead of getting distracted by their other jobs. Such as searching for the A-Team.

Sosa sent her team home for the day early. Well, early was actually on time. It was rare that they didn't work overtime. Theirs most certainly was not a nine to five job.

"Face?" she called out when she arrived back at her apartment.

There was no reply. She tried not to feel disappointed. She knew that he had his own job to do and couldn't always be available to her. But she was disappointed nevertheless. He was a federal fugitive on the run; he would never be reliable.

Sosa examined her fridge in an attempt to start dinner, but it was empty. So she had to go shopping. It felt nice to take a small break from her high-stress job, to pretend she left with at work and now her worries consisted of finding the freshest and most delicious apples and bananas.

She made sure to buy a bag of sour cream and onion potato chips. She hated them, but knew they were Face's favorite. Good God, she was starting to feel like a wife, expecting him to be home and worrying about what he wanted for dinner. She grabbed an extra case of beer.

This time Face was there when she came home. And so was Murdock.

"El Diablo," the crazy pilot whispered, pointing at Charissa when she asked through the door.

Face rolled his eyes. "Murdock, you promised to be nice. Now go help Charissa with her bags."

Face continued to relax on the couch, watching the news while Murdock took all of the grocery bags, grumbling to himself. Sosa let Murdock put away everything for her and went to sit by Face.

"El Diablo?" she asked, trying her best to sound extremely often offended.

It worked. Face looked at her guiltily.

"He's crazy, what does he know?" Sosa continued to frown so he added, "honey," in a sickly sweet tone. She still didn't thaw so he just put his arm around her shoulders and stuff, "We have been watching the news. Our faces haven't shown up in the last couple of weeks so I think we're safe to go out in public a bit. Probably not in D. ."

"I know a nice little bed and breakfast in Berryville," Sosa commented.

Face winked at her. "We'll check it out next time I'm in town. Can't always show up here, can I?"

Definitely not. She was surprised that none of her neighbors had noticed a strange man coming and leaving her apartment when she herself seldom spent her days there, particularly with others. As far as she knew, Sosa was the only government agent living in the building, but in this part of town, two out of three people wouldn't disclose their jobs. There hadn't been a single unsolved break in in the neighborhood as long as anyone could remember.

Murdock returned from the kitchen, stuffing chips into his mouth. He plopped down on the couch right between Face and Sosa.

"Murdock, go away," Face growled.

Murdock gasped. "I'll tell Hannibal! I'll tell on you! He said not to let me out of your sight. Do you want to be responsible for leaving me alone? I think not!" he sang out with a scarily accurate British accent.

"I'm not your babysitter," Face complained.

"Actually, amigo, I am yours. The colonel doesn't want you to get distracted," Murdock reminded him. "Now let's watch a movie."

He started fiddling with Sosa's television remote, but Face corrected him by turning it on and flipping it upside down. Murdock turned to the On Demand section and began selling through the adult section. After Sosa kindly informed him that they were under no circumstances watching porn, he found a brightly colored animated kid's cartoon.


	5. Chapter 5

The transfer was to be at noon, Face had said. Grizzoli himself would not be there, but a couple of his goons were expecting an easy normal deal. The A-Team's intelligence suggested that they would be easy to break and would likely be willing to sell out their boss.

Beyond that, Sosa was not informed of anything. Face kept mum and Murdock dragged him west when the sun went down. Sosa knew that Hannibal did not trust her as far as he could throw her, but she was a bit surprised by his lack of faith in Face.

Sosa was at work bright and early to prepare for the mission, on which they had far too little intelligence and nothing to go on but the word of a group of wanted ex-soldiers. Sometimes she really missed when the US was at war. The military was so much more organized and reliable than the chaos of an office job. Well, largely office work. Sosa still carried a gun on her hip at all times.

Tom was to be Sosa's partner on this one. Normally she would prefer to have Molly by her side, but this would involve minor undercover work. Face was right back at the restaurant, Molly was too obviously a law enforcement agent.

The pair waited in the small alley beside the bakery for the A-Team. Sosa was not surprised that Murdock and Hannibal himself were the ones to meet them. Hannibal could not do ask his dirty with through Face.

"Buy a soufflé," came the colonel's idea of a greeting.

Sosa nodded at Tom, gesturing for him to do as told. When he was gone, Hannibal began to speak again.

"A truck is about to arrive, drop off containers of baking ingredients, and leave with the narcotics. We will get you the proof you need to arrest them."

"What's the soufflé for?" Sosa asked.

"I don't like Agent Keller," Hannibal answered shortly.

When Tom returned, Sosa was alone. They stood and waited and watched. Since they had it, they might as well eat the soufflé.

At about five past twelve, a large white bakery truck turned into into another alleyway off the street. Immediately a couple of bakery employees came out and stood casually in front of the street, on a cigarette break. Sosa took note that both men were armed. Odd considering they were supposed to just be bakers.

Ten minutes late, they returned to the bakery and the truck pulled back out into the street. Out of nowhere, BA's distinct black truck pulled out from yet another little alleyway, cutting off the delivery van. The driver honked angrily.

While BA and the two delivery men, exchanged heated words, Hannibal, Face, and Murdock quietly opened the back of the van. It was full of bread. Loaves and loaves of bread. Murdock muttered something to Hannibal, who was turned away watching the door to the bakery. He turned to look at the truck bed.

Sosa took another bit of soufflé without looking, but felt plastic instead. She didn't need to examine it, one glance told her everything she needed to know.

"The drugs are in the bread," she whispered in shock, pulling out a small plastic bag full of white powder that she sighed was flour.

Tom appeared impressed. "That's clever."

Hannibal and the boys were digging through the truck by now, but hadn't thought of looking instead the bread. Sosa casually strolled out into the street.

"Looking for these?" she asked, such dumping out the rest of the bags of cocaine.

Murdock howled like a hyena. "It's in the bread, Colonel! It's in the bread!"

Sosa nodded. "I guess they gave us the wrong soufflé."

Face cracked open a large loaf of white bread and pulled out a bag of cocaine. Hannibal nodded in approval.

Sosa and Tom left the boys to gather the rest of the evidence and walked up each side of the van. BA noticed and waved. At the same moment the driver turned to look at Sosa, she found the door open and pulled him out.

"You have the right to remain silent . . ." she began, attaching her handcuffs to the man's artists. She caught Tom's eye as he did the same to the passenger.

The men were taken into custody and sang like canaries. Both were family men who just wanted to pick up some extra cash. They weren't hardened criminals at all. Grizzoli had been smart and gave them little specific information, but they still knew enough that Sosa and her team knew where to start looking.

"Thank you, Colonel Smith," Sosa said formally once the criminals were in custody. "We owe the A-Team a lot, but unfortunately you're still wanted men. It is Agent Keller, Agent Harding, and my job to catch you and bring you all back to prison."

"I understand," Hannibal replied.

"So the best we can do is offer you a twenty four hour head start and keep your involvement a secret."

The boys, standing in line over Hannibal's shoulder all grinned. They were relieved not to have to escape with difficult, though Sosa had little doubt that Hannibal had a plan ready if necessary.

"Starting at two o'clock tomorrow, we will be back on your real. Is that understood?"

Hannibal nodded. "Understood, Captain."

"Now get out of here and, if I may suggest, out of D.C."

"See you around, Captain," Face called, as the A-Team headed out.


End file.
